Three-cornered fight in Pandan will benefit BN, says Rafizi

Rafizi says he would have preferred a straight fight. — File picSUBANG JAYA, April 18 — Barisan Nasional (BN) will benefit from a divided Chinese vote should Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat decide to contest as an independent in Pandan, said PKR candidate for the seat Rafizi Ramli.

This comes as the incumbent Pandan MP mulls running on his own, days after he was dropped as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for Election 2013.

“He might get sympathy votes ... I’m not confident that Ong Tee Keat can win as an independent candidate, but if he does, he will give a chance for BN to win,” Rafizi said when met on the sidelines of the handing over of candidacy letters to PKR candidates for the general election here.

According to the PKR candidate for Pandan, it would be easier for him to face Ong in a straight fight, because in a three-cornered fight, Ong will take away Chinese votes from both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Despite admitting that he finds the MCA’s Garry Lim Chin Yee an easier foe in a straight fight compared to Ong, Rafizi warned of underestimating any BN candidates as they are backed by a huge political machinery.

Ong’s supporters and followers have organised several gatherings in the past few days to express their support for the incumbent MP, but with nomination day on Saturday looming, Ong has so far not committed himself to contesting.

Speculation over what Ong will do is being played out against the backdrop of his rivalry with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has been singled out as the man behind the decision.

Dr Chua deposed Ong as MCA president in 2010, but the latter remains popular with independent Chinese voters and significant numbers within BN.

Ong insisted last February that he would contest as a BN candidate in Pandan ― going up against PKR strategy director Rafizi, a well-known opposition politician ― after Dr Chua dropped him from the party’s nominees list for the 13th general election.

Ong had at the time also brushed off a question on whether he would choose to stand as an independent candidate should BN decide against selecting him to defend Pandan.

It is understood that Ong is favoured by senior leaders in Umno to defend his Pandan parliamentary seat because of his personal popularity among constituents there.

Observers also believe that the best chance for BN to retain the seat was to field Ong, especially in a contest against Rafizi, known as PKR’s “exposé man”.

MCA won only 15 of the 40 parliamentary seats that it contested in Election 2008; seven of which were in Johor.